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Endymion Spring
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More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Attractively packaged in an all-important shiny cover, and clocking in at just shy of 450 pages, Matthew Skelton’s debut novel is a substantial and impressive addition to the oeuvre of modern children’s books that many commentators say is undergoing something of a ‘Golden Age’.
Endymion Spring, feverishly sought after by many a publisher when it was completed and thrust forth upon the books community for acquisition, has catapulted its shy creator into a very large limelight. And it is attention richly deserved. It’s a well-written book that impresses from the beginning.
The author expertly interweaves two narratives with aplomb. The first tells of the adventures of 12-year-old Blake Winters, who is visiting Oxford with his academic mother and his kid sister, Duck. While their mum immerses herself in dusty academia, Blake feels trapped in the rarefied air of the college library until one day, while running his finger along a shelf, something pierces his finger, drawing blood. The biting book responsible is a battered old volume, with a strange clasp like a serpent's head--with real fangs. Printed on its front are two words: Endymion Spring.
The second part of the story takes place in 1452, in medieval Mainz, the German city where Johannes Gutenberg invented the first printing press to use movable type. It's the tale of Gutenberg's young apprentice, and the sacrifices he makes to keep a precious, dangerous dragon book from falling into the wrong hands.
The publishing industry loves a rags-to-riches story, and it hit the jackpot when Matthew Skelton, a penniless academic from Oxford, wrote a first novel that sold for huge sums of money. But Skelton has justified the investment in him by writing an intriguing, dramatic and suspenseful novel that cannot to fail to entertain all those who dare to pick it up.
(Age 10 and over)--John McLay
book review book of books, november 16, 1999
a thrilling book full of suspense and dark secrets.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Johann Fust arrived on a cold winter's night. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Johann Fust arrived on a cold winter's night. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I picked this book up in a second hand bookshop. I don't remember seeing it on a display anywhere before, which is odd considering how good it is. This is one of those young adult adventures that could be enjoyed by people older (and indeed, younger) than its intended readership.
Endymion Spring is a mute assistant to the great Johannes Gutenberg, inventor of the movable type printing press (although the notes in the book give some additional background to that claim). However Gutenberg goes into business with Johann Fust, who has something more diabolical in mind - and thus causes a chain of events that leads to Oxford. Here there are two American children, Blake and Duck, visiting with their mother who is involved in research of the Faust of literature. When a strange book bites Blake in the library, events unfold that span the centuries and lead to a wonderful, mysterious and sometimes terrifying adventure.
This book is fast paced, with good prose and dialogue and a story that had me hooked more or less from the start. It is a book about books, which is always a good one for hooking avid readers. But it is also a book about a boy who is not so keen on books. Maybe that part of teh story does not quite work - but you do feel that Blake is pretty much your average 12 year old, albeit stuck in an odd academic background that he resents.
I liked the interplay in the family. Duck is the annoying perfect little sister. But she is also Blake's friend, and it becomes clear that they love each other despite their normal sibling rivalries. The adults also are not just piece players in this book, but have their own unfolding story.
But ultimately this book is about the mystery: who was Endymion Spring? And what was his legacy?
This is a book I would be happy to recommend to young adults and adults alike. A satisfyingly spooky read.
Endymion Spring is a mute assistant to the great Johannes Gutenberg, inventor of the movable type printing press (although the notes in the book give some additional background to that claim). However Gutenberg goes into business with Johann Fust, who has something more diabolical in mind - and thus causes a chain of events that leads to Oxford. Here there are two American children, Blake and Duck, visiting with their mother who is involved in research of the Faust of literature. When a strange book bites Blake in the library, events unfold that span the centuries and lead to a wonderful, mysterious and sometimes terrifying adventure.
This book is fast paced, with good prose and dialogue and a story that had me hooked more or less from the start. It is a book about books, which is always a good one for hooking avid readers. But it is also a book about a boy who is not so keen on books. Maybe that part of teh story does not quite work - but you do feel that Blake is pretty much your average 12 year old, albeit stuck in an odd academic background that he resents.
I liked the interplay in the family. Duck is the annoying perfect little sister. But she is also Blake's friend, and it becomes clear that they love each other despite their normal sibling rivalries. The adults also are not just piece players in this book, but have their own unfolding story.
But ultimately this book is about the mystery: who was Endymion Spring? And what was his legacy?
This is a book I would be happy to recommend to young adults and adults alike. A satisfyingly spooky read.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I picked up an uncorrected proof copy of this title in a local charity shop, interested to see what it was about after reading the hype inscribed on the back cover.
This is one of those rare books written for children that can be read and enjoyed by an adult over the course of a couple of afternoons. And enjoyable couple of afternoons they are.
The book takes two stories and follows them. One in present day as a mysterious book of blank pages is discovered, the second way back in 1453 which tells the tale of a mute boy named Endymion Spring.
I will not give anything else away, but this is a very good book, full of mystery and intrigue from page one. Anyone that wants an enjoyable read should put their hand in their pocket now and cough up the cover price. You won't be dissappointed.
This is one of those rare books written for children that can be read and enjoyed by an adult over the course of a couple of afternoons. And enjoyable couple of afternoons they are.
The book takes two stories and follows them. One in present day as a mysterious book of blank pages is discovered, the second way back in 1453 which tells the tale of a mute boy named Endymion Spring.
I will not give anything else away, but this is a very good book, full of mystery and intrigue from page one. Anyone that wants an enjoyable read should put their hand in their pocket now and cough up the cover price. You won't be dissappointed.
Format:Paperback
A book that envelopes you and takes you into prerenaissance Europe while providing an engaging parallel 21st Century tale.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Good start...
This book reads like the halves of two promising books: The 15th century story is more gripping but unfinished and sketchy; Blake's story in present day Oxford is closer to a... Read more
Published on 9 Jan 2009 by E. Chao
Gripping tale
This book reminded me in some ways of Shadow of the Wind. Also, it has aspects of LOTR; in this case it's a book that holds the key to everything. Read more
Published on 3 Jan 2008 by kehs
Alright but...
The book appears to be good, the story being a good idea but it appears that Skelton is more interested with how the book looks than how the story is, using fonts to make it look... Read more
Published on 24 Nov 2007 by RoseGirl
Good and bad
The story of an American child in the libraries of Oxford finding a mysterious book that bites and then starts telling him things, is a brilliant premise. Read more
Published on 27 Aug 2007 by Wyvernfriend
The originality is stifled by the flat writing
For a book with such original ideas in it, the execution is peculiarly flat. Skelton seems more interested in setting up location and places than he is in building up character or... Read more
Published on 22 Aug 2007 by quippe
Amazing
I recently met Matthew Skelton at a debate about whether books could be replaced by the internet, obviously he was on our side, arguing against. Read more
Published on 2 April 2007 by Miss E. L. Bromfield
Great idea lost in bad writing
This is an interesting story and I loved the idea of a book of knowledge made from dragon skin. Unfortunately, the great idea is let down in this over-written and under-edited... Read more
Published on 16 Mar 2007 by L. Hogan
Gripping Read!
This book reminded me in some ways of Shadow of the Wind. Also, it has aspects of LOTR; in this case it's a book that holds the key to everything. Read more
Published on 21 Jan 2007 by kehs
Not as good as I hoped
Before reading this book, I decided to ignore all of the reviews I had read (good and bad) and make up my own mind about it. Read more
Published on 13 Aug 2006 by Brida
Bleah Painfully awkward
I am not certain where the stellar reviews of this book are coming from unless they are friends of the author. Read more
Published on 26 July 2006 by Joe Williams
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